1. Field of the Invention
The present patent document relates to bottle type bird feeders, namely nectar feeders for birds. The nectar feeder of the present invention contains a float and a valve which together regulates the flow of nectar feed from a container and into a base tray. The float and valve either prevent or allow the flow of nectar feed depending upon the volume of nectar feed contained in the base tray.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the prior art, typical hummingbird feeders include an enclosed base tray for housing the liquid feed nectar therein. A number of feed ports are provided through the top base cover of the base tray so a bird may gain access to the liquid feed therethrough. Typically, the feed ports are small in diameter to simulate an actual flower in the field.
There is a periodic need to re-fill the base tray of the feeder with the liquid feed when the supply is low or completely out. In the prior art, an inverted vacuum-type bottle is commonly employed to supply the liquid into the main chamber of the base tray of the feeder to provide a continuous supply of feed for consumption by the hummingbirds. In the prior art, a bottle, in similar configuration and size to a baby bottle is typically used. However, larger or smaller bottles may be used. The bottle has a bottom closed end and a top open end which has male threading thereon. A complementary female threaded aperture is provided in the top base cover of the base tray of the feeder to receive the open threaded end of the reservoir. The reservoir, with liquid feed therein, supplies liquid into the base tray of the feed for access by the hummingbirds. Since the bottle has a closed top end, a vacuum is created thus controlling the downward flow of liquid as the hummingbird feeds from the feeder. As liquid is drained from the reservoir, bubbles will rise in similar fashion to a common drinking water bubbler.
Due to presence of high sugar content in hummingbird nectar, which results in accumulation of solids and growth of mold inside the bottle and base tray, cleaning of the prior art feeder must be frequent to maintain a desirable level of performance. Such frequent cleaning is considered by many users to be difficult for several reasons. For example, the users must use a variety of brushes that can fit into the small mouth of the bottle to clean the interior. Cleaning the prior art bottle feeders using a rag or sponge is generally impractical.
In this prior art construction, the base tray of the feeder must be inverted, when threadably receiving the bottle that contains the new supply of liquid feed, to avoid spilling of the liquid. If the base tray of the feeder is not inverted, the liquid will spill until the bottle was threadably secured to the top base cover of the base tray of the feeder. Inverting the base tray portion of feeder is undesirable because any remaining liquid feed still in the base tray will leak out making the installation of the bottle messy. This is particularly messy if a substantial amount of liquid feed remains in the base tray of the feeder.
Accordingly, there is a need for a nectar feeder that provides a mechanism for providing nectar feed without inverting a bottle or the base tray of the feeder. There also remains a need for a nectar feeder that provides access for easy refilling of the nectar feeder without spilling the nectar. Also, there remains a need for a nectar feeder that is easy to clean. There is a further need to better control the flow and delivery of nectar.